Charlotte and Henry, Wedding Reception, Marquee, Mottram, Longdendale, July 2014

This was the third consecutive gig for Rollercoaster, and though it may be tiring, the actual effect is that the band begins to effectively run on rails.  And this was the perfect gig for this to happen!

The surroundings were simply stunning.  The lawns were perfect, the house immaculate. and the marquee was perfection.  There had obviously been a lot of thought gone into this, with some very professional services involved – from lighting, to flower arranging, catering… everything.  The band had there own area, with a star cloth ceiling, black backdrop etc.  It was actually the perfect venue, well thought out, and a fantastic sound.  It’s always great to be part of such an event, which has no expense spared.. and the fact is, the band plays a major part in the evenings entertainment (in fact all of it, considering we were dj’ing as well).

Charlotte and Henry had seen the band at a wedding in the Surrey Hills – I think it was Emily and Chris (a wedding I remember because Tim Rice was in the audience!).  They knew what they wanted, but they added in the extra fiddle / mandolin and keyboards… which was a great move!  Charlotte had been a joy to deal with over the months leading up to the wedding – lovely to talk to over the phone – a friendly effervescent character… which came out on the night when we finally met her!  The first dance was ‘How Long Will I Love You’, which though covered by Ellie Goulding, was actually a Waterboys cover.  With Chris Haigh on mandolin, and Jason on fiddle, we were able to do a ‘Rollercoaster’ interpretation, which was a blend of the two…. and was a joy to play!

From the first dance on, the dance floor was packed, and the crowd were full of enthusiasm.  In the break, we discovered that actually we knew a few of the guests, directly, and through the Cranleigh School connections in the band… which shows what a small world it really is!

Set two kicked off with some traditional Irish tunes, followed by more contemporary tracks… and once again, the dance floor rocked out.  It was an absolute highlight to look out and see the crowd going for it – as if it was an old school rave… literally, hands in the air, bouncing to the sound of the music.  After the third encore, we finally stopped (coaches were outside waiting to take the guests to their hotels).

It was a night to remember, and a pleasure to be part of.  We were very well looked after (our ‘green room’ contained a pool table and table tennis table, which were in constant use – guitar Rob being the resident pool shark, Jason swearing by the Chinese table tennis method of holding the bat ).

Hopefully we’ll see this crowd again.  Congratulations to Henry and Charlotte – best of luck in the future!